


Wendy

by chibi_zoe



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 01:05:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2409434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chibi_zoe/pseuds/chibi_zoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riza wonders what her father would say if he could see her now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wendy

Title: Wendy  
Author: chibi-zoe  
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist  
Paring: Riza-centric  
Rating: M  
Summary: Riza wonders what her father would say if he could see her now.

Riza was brought up to be a quiet and polite girl, the daughter of a reasonably well-to-do alchemist, and it was expected that she would marry her fathers’ apprentice before settling down to have a small brood of quiet and polite children. Her education had revolved around making and keeping house, cooking, cleaning, and making sure that the household ran smoothly. It was the life that her mother had lived, and her grandmother, and her great-grandmothers back as far as anyone could remember. It had promised to be a simple and easy life, if not a particularly exciting one.

The fact that she did not sexually desire her fathers’ apprentice, a rather quiet and courteous boy that she considered more of a brother than a potential husband, was only a minor stumbling block on the path of her planned life. She knew enough women who did not love or desire their husbands, but were happy enough none the less, to know that those emotions were neither the be-all nor the end-all of a relationship. All it took was determination to make the best of things, and an ability to always look on the bright side of life, skills that she had always excelled at. 

When her father took sick, she cared for him competently as she’d been taught to do, and acquiesced to his all of his requests, even the more outlandish ones. It was how she ended up with a fire alchemy array tattooed on her back, with strict instructions to not tell Roy about it until after they were married. It was her fathers’ way of ensuring that she would not be abandoned after his death by the man that he had earmarked to provide for her, so she bore the pain without complaint and continued on as she always had – there was nothing else that she could do.

It wasn’t until after the funeral that she realised that Roy might have had other plans for the future, ones that did not coincide with her fathers’ views and ones which did not include her. She’d listened respectfully as he’d told her about his wish to join the military and become a State Alchemist, but she hadn’t known what to say in response. Before he’d left, he’d made sure that the house was signed over into her name, made sure that all of her fathers’ money was available for her use, and then basically told her to have a nice life before turning and walking briskly away. 

It had been nice at first to have the entire house all to herself, to not have to wait upon anyone and to do what she wanted when she wanted to, but all to soon the novelty wore off and she realised how incredibly lonely she was. All of her friends had families of their own, and she wasn’t sure how to go about finding a husband that she could build a life with. Sitting before the crackling fire one cold winters’ night, it suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t have to stay here, that she could go anywhere in the world that she wanted to. She could even join the military.

The entrance exam was easy, but boot camp was like nothing else Riza had ever experienced before. She loved it. Everything in the military was ordered and organised, a giant machine that looked after thousands of men and women, yet allowed each and every member to know exactly where they stood at any given moment. Even the strenuousness of the physical training was designed to allow each soldier to know the limits of their own body, and to enable them to put aside their ‘self’ and work together with veritable strangers as a cohesive unit.

One day whilst her team was on kitchen duty, she saw Roy again. He seemed surprised to see her, especially as an enlisted soldier, but he had no condemnation for her choice. She was just glad to see that he was alright, even if he wasn’t a State Alchemist yet. Rather surprisingly, it seemed that Roy had missed her as well, and invited her out to dinner, off base. Without her fathers’ looming shadow chaperoning their interactions, conversation flowed freely, and she found herself getting to know him better than she ever had before. She listened as he told her about his struggles to perfect his alchemy to gain the qualification that he so desired.

After several months and much thought and consideration, she eventually asked him to take her back to his apartment as she was still living in the dorms. He seemed shocked at her request, especially as there had never been any sparks of sexual attraction between them, but acquiesced anyway. She distinctly heard his breathing rate increase as she unbuttoned her shirt, but then his breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of her fathers’ final array. His fingers were soft as he traced the design, and his arms were warm as he embraced her fraternally in thanks. It was the final piece in his puzzle, and he dragged her out to celebrate when he finally received his silver watch.

Then war broke out in Ishbal, and Riza’s life was turned upside down. Training was officially over and her unit was shipped to the front line. Her skills in marksmanship ensured that she was given a chance to become a sniper rather than a front line grunt, an opportunity that caused mixed feelings within her heart. On one hand, it meant her life was much safer, but on the other hand, nearly every time that she pulled the trigger someone died. Her hands were stained red with blood. Men, women and children, all were her victims, helpless before her sights. She felt guilty for sleeping at night, for not allowing the faces of those she killed to haunt her dreams. 

The first time she shot someone directly with her pistol, at nearly point blank range after he burst into her hidey-hole and tried to stab her with his bayonet, she acquired a whole new appreciation for the human body. Her sniping rifle had allowed her to avoid the mess and sheer brutality of death. Having to wipe from her face the blood of a man, someone’s husband, someone’s father, someone’s son, drove home the grim reality of war. She wanted to cry, like a child who has done something bad and then been punished for it, but she didn’t have time, there were more people that needed to be killed so that her comrades might live. 

When the military called in the State Alchemists to hurry along the extermination, she saw Roy once again. His face was set in a grim mask as he did his duty and clicked his fingers. A raging inferno engulfed an entire housing block, burning all of its inhabitants to nothing but ash in moments, before they even had a chance to flee. Greasy smoke and the smell of burning meat assaulted Riza’s nostrils and she watched through the sights on her rifle as Roy’s face mirrored the horror he felt at doing his duty. She had always known that alchemy could be dangerous, but she’d never appreciated just how dangerous until this very moment. 

When this was all over, she was going to ask Roy to remove the tattoo on her back so no-one else ever gained the secret of Flame Alchemy, but in order to do that, she had to make sure that he stayed safe. She took to ensuring that he was always within her sights, frantically scanning the surroundings for that little glint of light on metal that would announce that there was an enemy sniper out there just waiting to pick off her colleagues. Her reputation grew in direct proportion to the number of kills that she made, and she justified it to herself as simply following orders.

Meeting Kimbly changed so much. The man was criminally insane and yet the higher-ups just let him loose to kill indiscriminately as he would. They didn’t even seem to care that he killed their own soldiers as well as the enemy, as long as the Ishbalans were exterminated in a timely manner. He was a thorn in the side of everyone he met, rubbing them the wrong way and grating on feelings that they all did their best to keep hidden. Secret feelings, like the little thrill of satisfaction that came whenever she hit a target, human or otherwise, and awe at the sheer destructive power of alchemy. Just listening to the man made her feel tainted and dirty. 

When the dreadful campaign was finally over, Riza found herself deployed to the same base as Roy. She couldn’t have been happier. He on the other hand, was a changed man, far more sombre and more driven to achieve goals that had previously seemed to be mere pipe dreams. She also knew that he was wracked with nightmares about Ishbal, nightmares that he tried to chase away with sins of the flesh. She wasn’t jealous, she knew now that men were never going to spark her interest, not in the way that other women did. So instead, she helped him where she could and did her very best to rise up in rank, determined to stay as close to his side as she could, caring for him in the sisterly way that she always had.

As time passed, Roy gathered other trusted subordinates around him and shared with them his goal of becoming Fuhrer, Riza found herself enjoying a new type of camaraderie, as they slowly meshed into a strongly-knit unit, as close as family. All of the homemaking skills that she had learned as a girl had never been so useful, and every day she mentally thanked her mother for giving her the means to take such good care of the men in her life. All she really needed now was someone special to share the long nights with, someone warm and soft who would understand her need to stay in the military despite its warmongering, power-hungry leaders.

The addition of the Fullmetal Alchemist to their quiet little squad was like adding tinder to a banked fire. His visits were punctuated by bright bursts of unrestrained emotions and flurries of activity as his unstoppable drive to restore his brother inspired them all. That such young children could have done what they did, and lived to reap the consequences, was both horrifying and astonishing. Riza’s heart went out to them. Given the same set of circumstances, she didn’t think that she would have been able to go on. The others’ gently jibed her about favouritism, but she noticed that they too had a definite soft spot for the Elric’s.

As the boys grew older however, it became more and more obvious that things were coalescing around them. Life was becoming more and more dangerous and Riza was more determined than ever to make sure that she and her precious people came out on top. Even when they were forcibly separated by the higher-up’s, who were suspicious of their activities, they kept in touch, traded information, and continued with their plans. If the world was to be made into a better place then they needed the right person in charge, and Roy was their choice. She just hoped that Ed and Al managed to restore themselves somewhere amidst all the confusion.

 

Settling back into her chair with a heartfelt sigh, Riza felt lucky to still be alive. She still had trouble believing that she’d escaped the entire upheaval in government, and the final strike of the homunculi with little more than bruises. In his opulent Fuhrer’s office, Roy was still avoiding his paperwork, and the other members of their squad were still the same as they had always been, albeit with an astonishing variety of war wounds. The Elric boys had regained their bodies, shocking themselves as much as anyone else, before vanishing into the crowds determined to use their alchemy to help the people who needed it most. 

Perhaps the most surprising thing however, was the fact that Riza had finally found someone to share her life with, someone who didn’t care about the blood staining her hands, and who accepted her for who she was. Glancing at the clock, she smiled, her lover was due to pick her up any moment now, and she wanted to have everything tidied away so that they could leave as soon as possible.


End file.
